diff --git a/src/plugins/git/loadRepositoryTest.sh b/src/plugins/git/loadRepositoryTest.sh
index bf63bb4..b75afaa 100755
--- a/src/plugins/git/loadRepositoryTest.sh
+++ b/src/plugins/git/loadRepositoryTest.sh
@@ -9,12 +9,14 @@ usage() {
   printf 'Flags:\n'
   printf '  -u|--updateSnapshot\n'
   printf '      Update the stored file instead of checking its contents\n'
+  printf ' --[no-]build\n'
+  printf '      Whether to run "yarn backend" before the test.\n'
+  printf '      Default is --build.\n'
   printf '  --help\n'
   printf '      Show this message\n'
 }
 
 fetch() {
-  yarn backend >&2
   tmpdir="$(mktemp -d)"
   node bin/createExampleRepo.js "${tmpdir}"
   node bin/loadAndPrintGitRepository.js "${tmpdir}"
@@ -33,21 +35,31 @@ update() {
 }
 
 main() {
-  cd "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"
-  if [ $# -eq 0 ]; then
-    check
-  elif [ $# -eq 1 ]; then
-    if [ "$1" = "-u" ] || [ "$1" = "--updateSnapshot" ]; then
-      update
-    elif [ "$1" = "--help" ]; then
+  UPDATE=
+  BUILD=1
+  while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
+    if [ "$1" = "--help" ]; then
       usage
+      return 0
+    elif [ "$1" = "-u" ] || [ "$1" = "--updateSnapshot" ]; then
+      UPDATE=1
+    elif [ "$1" = "--build" ]; then
+      BUILD=1
+    elif [ "$1" = "--no-build" ]; then
+      BUILD=
     else
       usage >&2
       return 1
     fi
+    shift
+  done
+  if [ -n "${BUILD}" ]; then
+    yarn backend
+  fi
+  if [ -n "${UPDATE}" ]; then
+    update
   else
-    usage >&2
-    return 1
+    check
   fi
 }
 
diff --git a/src/plugins/github/fetchGithubRepoTest.sh b/src/plugins/github/fetchGithubRepoTest.sh
index 8056d97..f51a242 100755
--- a/src/plugins/github/fetchGithubRepoTest.sh
+++ b/src/plugins/github/fetchGithubRepoTest.sh
@@ -5,12 +5,15 @@ set -eu
 data_file=src/plugins/github/demoData/example-repo.json
 
 usage() {
-  printf 'usage: %s [-u|--updateSnapshot] [--help]\n' "$0"
+  printf 'usage: %s [-u|--updateSnapshot] [--[no-]build] [--help]\n' "$0"
   printf 'Required environment variables:\n'
   printf '  GITHUB_TOKEN: A 40-character hex string API token.\n'
   printf 'Flags:\n'
   printf '  -u|--updateSnapshot\n'
   printf '      Update the stored file instead of checking its contents\n'
+  printf ' --[no-]build\n'
+  printf '      Whether to run "yarn backend" before the test.\n'
+  printf '      Default is --build.\n'
   printf '  --help\n'
   printf '      Show this message\n'
 }
@@ -21,7 +24,6 @@ fetch() {
     printf >&2 'to a 40-character hex string API token from GitHub.\n'
     return 1
   fi
-  yarn backend >&2
   node bin/fetchAndPrintGithubRepo.js \
     sourcecred example-repo "${GITHUB_TOKEN}"
 }
@@ -39,20 +41,31 @@ update() {
 
 main() {
   cd "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"
-  if [ $# -eq 0 ]; then
-    check
-  elif [ $# -eq 1 ]; then
-    if [ "$1" = "-u" ] || [ "$1" = "--updateSnapshot" ]; then
-      update
-    elif [ "$1" = "--help" ]; then
+  UPDATE=
+  BUILD=1
+  while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
+    if [ "$1" = "--help" ]; then
       usage
+      return 0
+    elif [ "$1" = "-u" ] || [ "$1" = "--updateSnapshot" ]; then
+      UPDATE=1
+    elif [ "$1" = "--build" ]; then
+      BUILD=1
+    elif [ "$1" = "--no-build" ]; then
+      BUILD=
     else
       usage >&2
       return 1
     fi
+    shift
+  done
+  if [ -n "${BUILD}" ]; then
+    yarn backend
+  fi
+  if [ -n "${UPDATE}" ]; then
+    update
   else
-    usage >&2
-    return 1
+    check
   fi
 }